Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce The Big Apple, a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's design for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub was announced by the Port Authority in July 2005. The design looks like a "bird in flight" and is similar to his designs for other cities. (His Bilbao design is nicknamed "dove.")

Freestanding Glass-and-Steel Mass-Transit Hub Will Connect PATH to Ferries and Subway Service across Lower Manhattan

Date: January 22, 2004
Press Release No.: 7-2004
The world caught its first glimpse today of the Port Authority's enduring monument to the heroism of September 11, 2001, when world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava unveiled soaring, spectacular design concepts for the bistate agency's World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which will significantly improve mass-transit connections across Lower Manhattan.

The glass roof above the hub's freestanding grand pavilion, featuring ribbed arches that evoke a cathedral, will open each year on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Glass-and-steel wings will rise up to 150 feet. Natural light will reach rail platforms 60 feet below street level.

"This is the Port Authority's gift to New York City," Mr. Calatrava said. "It will be a lamp of hope in the middle of Lower Manhattan, creating an unbroken line of natural light from the platforms to the sky."

Flanked by New York Governor George E. Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Mr. Calatrava also said the $2 billion World Trade Center Transportation Hub will include:

A permanent Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) terminal that eventually will serve more than 80,000 daily PATH riders, including tens of thousands of commuters and millions of annual visitors to the World Trade Center Memorial.

Pedestrian connections that will significantly improve access to PATH, ferries and subway lines across Lower Manhattan. By 2020, these connections are expected to accommodate 250,000

Greater open space in the Wedge of Light Plaza and additional access from Church Street to the Memorial District.

State-of-the-art safety, security and environmental enhancements.

Mr. Calatrava said the Transportation Hub will serve as a source of inspiration for the heroes, survivors and families of September 11, as well as those who live in, work in and visit Lower Manhattan.

Last summer, the Port Authority selected the Downtown Design Partnership, in association with Mr. Calatrava, to design the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The partnership is led by the joint venture of DMJM + Harris and STV Group, Inc. - two of the world's most successful and respected architectural/engineering firms.

Governor Pataki said, "The soaring design for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub completes the promise of Daniel Libeskind's master plan for the site, skillfully complementing the designs for the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower and the Memorial. Santiago Calatrava's masterpiece will one day take its rightful place among New York City's most inspiring architectural icons. Millions of commuters and visitors will pass through this spectacular new transit hub when they come to Lower Manhattan."

New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey said, "The World Trade Center Transportation Hub will make a statement to the world: The people of this region are undaunted in the face of the forces of evil. The design for this spectacular structure clearly shows that we are fully committed to rebuilding our infrastructure and restoring normalcy to our lives."

Mayor Bloomberg said, "Today we unveil the design of downtown's new PATH station and we imagine that future generations will look at this building as a true record of our lives today as we rebuild our city. What will they see in Santiago Calatrava's thrilling work? They'll see creativity in design, and strength in construction. They'll see confidence in our investment in a stunning gateway to what will always be the 'Financial Capital of the World.' They'll see a seamless connection to the PATH train, city subways, and ultimately, to our regional airports. And they'll see optimism - a building appearing to take flight - just like the neighborhood it serves."

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, "Our most important priority at the World Trade Center site is the creation of a Memorial that will pay tribute to the heroes of September 11, including the 84 members of the Port Authority family who sacrificed their lives on that terrible day. Our next priority is to create a 21st century mass-transit network that will serve commuters and visitors to Lower Manhattan. Santiago Calatrava's Transportation Hub - a work of unsurpassed beauty - will meet the region's needs while inspiring the world for generations to come."

Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, "The World Trade Center Transportation Hub will enable a quarter-million daily travelers to reach their destinations across Lower Manhattan faster and more conveniently. Much as the rehabilitation of Grand Central Terminal has sparked the revitalization of midtown, the restoration and enhancement of Lower Manhattan's transportation system will accelerate the economic recovery of the nation's third-largest business district."
Port Authority Executive Director Joseph J. Seymour said, "The significance of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub is nothing short of historic. We will finally untangle Lower Manhattan's knotted network of confusing mass-transit connections, which have hindered this part of the city for a century."

The permanent World Trade Center Transportation Hub will feature seamless pedestrian connections to the World Financial Center and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposed Fulton Street Transit Center. Lower Manhattan residents, commuters and visitors will enjoy far faster access to ferry service along the Hudson River, and to 14 Lower Manhattan subway lines - the 1/9, 2/3, 4/5, N/R, A/C/E and J/M/Z. The World Trade Center Transportation Hub also is being designed to accommodate potential rail service to John F. Kennedy International Airport or other destinations.

The Permanent PATH Terminal is expected to begin serving passengers by the end of 2006. All elements of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub are scheduled for completion by 2009.
The Port Authority is in the middle of the environmental review process for the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which is being developed in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration.

A temporary PATH station opened at the World Trade Center site on November 23, 2003. The temporary station - the final piece of the Port Authority's $566 million program to restore PATH service as quickly as possible between New Jersey and Lower Manhattan - was the first public space to open within the World Trade Center site since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Ridership at the temporary World Trade Center PATH station already is exceeding initial projections.

The temporary station is an open-air facility that provides a basic level of passenger service. It does not include many of the customer amenities that existed in the World Trade Center PATH station prior to September 11, 2001, such as heating, air conditioning and rest rooms. Those customer amenities will be restored in the permanent World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

The Port Authority began service in 1962 on the Port Authority Trans-Hudson system, more commonly known as PATH, after taking over the system from the bankrupt Hudson and Manhattan Railroad. The system was originally built in 1908, and the tunnels linking New York and New Jersey were the first passenger rail connections between the two states.

Before September 11, 2001, the PATH rapid-transit rail system of 13 stations carried approximately 260,000 daily passengers between New York and New Jersey. Today, PATH carries approximately 180,000 daily passengers. Prior to September 11, 2001, approximately 67,000 daily passengers boarded PATH at the World Trade Center.

http://lawhawk.blogspot.com/2005/07/battle-for-ground-zero-part-xxv.html
As the New York Post notes, Calatrava's terminal is the first permanent structure to arise in the 16 acres of the WTC complex.
When complete, the transit hub will include a main hall as large as Grand Central Terminal and will serve as a transfer point for up to 250,000 commuters using its connections to subways and office towers, in addition to the PATH riders.

Calatrava unveiled his latest design after first drawing a picture of a woman looking upward at a bird in flight and describing his inspiration as "a kind of gift, a bird. Something very light, something very ethereal."

http://greg.org/archive/2005/07/28/hm_doesnt_sound_like_intelligent_design_or_evolution.html
July 28, 2005
Hm. Doesn't Sound Like Intelligent Design OR Evolution
Santiago Calatrava's design for a WTC site transit hub has been altered for security reasons. The soaring wings and the glass atrium? Gone, filled in with concrete, to match the new "beak" and solid concrete wall surrounding the joing. According to the NYT's achingly diplomatic David Dunlap, the new design "will almost certainly lose some of its delicate quality, while gaining structural expressiveness. It may now evoke a slender stegosaurus more than it does a bird."